Feelo
Dining Discovery & Deals Platform
Feelo is a dining discovery and deals platform built for experience-first consumers primarily Gen Z and young millennials who decide where to eat based on peer recommendations, cultural relevance, and the thrill of finding a deal that feels exclusive.
The challenge: Competing for attention in a market saturated with discount-led food apps, where standard promotional mechanics had become invisible to the target audience. Feelo needed an acquisition approach that felt native to Gen Z behavior not like an ad.
The solution: Was a three-pronged phygital campaign: hidden newsletter promo codes that rewarded the curious, nano-creator partnerships that embedded Feelo into authentic conversations, and on-ground venue activations that made the first redemption experience frictionless and shareable.
The Strategic Framework: Make Them Feel Like Insiders
Three distinct acquisition mechanics worked in concert, each designed for a different touchpoint in the Gen Z attention landscape:
Mechanic 01 — Hidden Newsletter Codes
Promo codes were embedded as Easter eggs inside newsletter content — not displayed prominently, but buried in paragraph copy, footnotes, and image alt text for readers who were genuinely engaged. This mechanic rewarded attention and created a sense of discovery that drove organic sharing: ‘Did you find the code in this week’s Feelo email?’
01. Codes were location-specific and time-limited to drive urgency and a genuine fear of missing out
02. Newsletter open rates tracked alongside code redemption to identify highest-engagement subscriber segments
03. Shareable format: readers forwarded emails specifically to share the ‘hidden’ code with friends
Mechanic 02 — Nano-Creator Partnerships
Rather than investing in macro-influencers with broad but disengaged audiences, Feelo partnered with 50+ nano-creators — food content creators with 1,000–15,000 followers whose audiences trusted them as genuine peers, not paid promoters. The logic was deliberate: one creator with 500,000 followers produces a single point of exposure, while 50 creators with 10,000 followers each produce 50 simultaneous, independent conversations happening across different communities at the same time. Brand visibility spreads like a virus — not from one loud source, but from dozens of trusted voices igniting their own circles simultaneously.
01. 50+ nano-creators activated in parallel — creating multi-directional brand exposure across distinct Gen Z dining communities
02. Each creator received a unique tracked promo link and code — enabling precise attribution per creator
03. Creators were briefed to share only restaurants they authentically enjoyed — no scripted content requirements
04. Creator-specific landing pages tracked clicks, signups, and first redemptions separately
05. High-performing creators were offered recurring partnerships; low performers were cycled out based on data
06. The combined effect: organic-feeling brand presence across dozens of micro-communities simultaneously, impossible to replicate with a single large-following account
Mechanic 03 — On-Ground Venue Activation
Physical presence at dining venues — table cards, QR code tent cards, staff briefings — reduced the friction of the first-time redemption. The in-venue prompt met users at the exact moment of intent: when they were already seated, already deciding to spend money on food.
01. 140% uplift in first-time redemptions attributed directly to in-venue prompt placement
02. Staff were briefed to verbally mention Feelo at bill presentation — creating a warm, conversational touchpoint
03. QR codes linked directly to the venue’s Feelo page — no app store friction, direct to relevant content
04. Venue-branded Feelo collateral designed to feel premium and belonging, not promotional clutter
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Gen Z Sign-Up Growth (Peak Campaign Window) | 320% increase |
| First-Time Feelo Redemptions (In-Venue Uplift) | 140% uplift |
| New Users via Hidden Codes + Nano-Creator Links | 1,000+ users acquired |
| Newsletter Code Discovery & Forward Rate | Measurably above baseline open-to-share ratio |
| Creator Attribution Accuracy | 100% — per-creator tracked promo links |
| In-Venue QR Conversion | Highest single-channel FTR uplift at 140% |
Why It Worked: The Gen Z Acquisition Principles
1. Discovery > Promotion
The hidden code mechanic turned a standard promo into a participation experience. Users who found the code felt clever — and shared that feeling with their network, driving earned acquisition at zero additional cost.
2. Peer Trust > Brand Authority
Nano-creators with 2,000 engaged followers outperformed macro-influencers with 200,000 passive ones. The authenticity of the recommendation — paired with a trackable unique code — delivered measurable conversion, not just impressions. More critically, activating 50+ nano-creators simultaneously meant the brand appeared organically across dozens of unconnected communities at once — creating the sensation of viral momentum without paid amplification. This is the distributed model: many small fires burn longer and wider than one large flame.
3. Meet the Moment of Intent
In-venue activation intercepted users at the highest-intent moment in the food journey — already seated, already spending. The 140% uplift in first-time redemptions validates the power of physical presence at the decision point over passive digital retargeting.
4. Data-Driven Creator Selection
Every creator partnership was tracked to signup and redemption level — not just reach or impressions. This enabled continuous optimisation: doubling down on high-converting creators and eliminating spend on low-performing partnerships within weeks, not quarters.
Key Learnings
01. The most powerful Gen Z acquisition mechanic is participation — any campaign element that makes the user feel like they found something, won something, or were let in on a secret outperforms direct advertising
02. Nano-creator ROI compounds over time — recurring partnerships with high-performing micro-voices build genuine community association, not just one-time reach
03. Physical-digital handoff is the highest-converting moment digital acquisition campaigns that end in a physical redemption experience see significantly lower churn than fully digital funnels
04. Attribution precision enables speed — per-creator and per-venue tracking allowed rapid optimisation cycles that would be impossible with blended digital metrics alone
05. Exclusivity at scale is achievable — hidden codes and location-specific offers create the feeling of scarcity without actually limiting reach